You can load several different tickets onto a Troika card, and they're not interchangeable: one is best for a two-day tourist pass, another suits a commuter, and a third is hardly beneficial to anyone. The difference between the worst and best choice for a week of travel is several hundred rubles.
We're analyzing the metro's current fare structure to determine from how many trips it becomes cost-effective.
How much does the map itself cost?
The Troika card is not purchased but taken with a deposit of 150 ₽. The deposit is refunded at the ticket office when the card is returned—this can be done within five years of the card's issue date.
If you're in Moscow for two days and won't need the card anymore, you can get your 150 ₽ deposit back before you leave. Many people don't know this and end up taking their Troika card home as a souvenir at their own expense.
Wallet — basic tariff
A single trip on the "Wallet" ticket in the central zone costs 75 ₽. A single trip allows one passage on any mode of transport: metro, MCC, or ground transport.
Out-of-town zone fare: 102 ₽. Beyond that, in the outer zone, an additional 39 ₽ is added per zone.
The balance is topped up by up to 10,000 RUB.
It takes 90 minutes when there are more than one transfer.
The 90-minute ticket costs 112 ₽ in the central zone and is automatically activated when transferring to another mode of transport.
Counting in: Metro plus bus via "Koshelok" is two rides for 150 ₽. Via "90 Minutes" it's 112 ₽. Saving 38 ₽ on the bundle.
But if your journey is a single metro ride without transfers to ground transport, the 90-minute fare is 37 ₽ more expensive than the Wallet fare per trip. In other words, the fare is only beneficial for those with a multi-leg route and disadvantageous for everyone else.
Day pass and 3-day pass: arithmetic for a visitor
One day — 415 ₽. That's exactly 5.5 trips on the Wallet. So the day pass pays off on the sixth trip of the day. A typical tourist itinerary—subway there, subway back, a couple of hops between spots—usually comes to 4-6 rides. Right on the edge.
Three days — 800 ₽. That's 10.7 rides, so it pays off on the 11th ride within three days — fewer than four per day. For visitors, this ticket is almost always a good deal: in three days in Moscow, you rack up four entries a day on your own.
Daily tickets are activated upon first entry, not at the time of purchase. They can be bought in advance.
Monthly and annual: where is the boundary
A single ticket for 30 days costs 3,460 RUB in the central zone and 4,450 RUB in the suburban zone.
3,460 RUB is 46 trips on the Wallet. A typical working month consists of 21-22 working days with two trips each, so 42-44 trips in total. This means the monthly unified ticket doesn't pay off for a "home-to-work-and-back" route unless you add evening and weekend trips.
This isn't an obvious conclusion, and it contradicts the habit of "I go every day, so I'll get a monthly pass." You should calculate based on your actual number of trips, not your gut feeling.
90 days — 8,450 RUB (11,400 RUB with suburban zones), 365 days — 24,900 RUB (33,200 RUB with suburban zones). The annual pass works out to 68 RUB per day of ownership — with two daily trips, it's already noticeably cheaper than the Wallet.
There's also a Bus-Tram fare: 2,250 RUB for 30 days, 5,950 RUB for 90 days, and 18,400 RUB for a year. If you don't need the metro, the difference from the standard unlimited pass is over a thousand rubles per month.
⚠️ Tickets for 30, 90, and 365 days are only loaded onto the "Troika" card. They are activated either with the first use or automatically 10 days after purchase, so you can't buy them "in advance" for a month ahead.
About paying by bank card - honestly
You can tap your bank card at the turnstile, and many people do. However, the metro doesn't publish a separate fare for bank cards on its website, so we're not providing a figure. Comparing the "75 ₽ on Troika" to a number from someone else's post is guesswork, not analysis.
What can be said with certainty: a bank card is always a single use, with no "90 minutes" and no daily limits. All tariffs that offer savings on volume are on the "Troika" card.
Short answer
Two to three days in Moscow — a single three-day pass for 800 ₽.
For one packed day - count the passes: if fewer than six, take "Wallet."
With a metro and ground transfer — "90 minutes."
Every day to work and nowhere else — "Kashalyok" beats the monthly pass.
You live here and drive constantly — an annual pass.
What to read nearby
If you don't use the Moscow Metro often, start by understanding the map, payment, and transfers. And when the metro closes, night buses will come to your rescue — you'll find routes and schedules there too.
Photo: Mikhail Shcherbakov · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons, cropped. Fares verified on September 2, 2026, on the official website of the Moscow Metro.
